23 April 2019
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
In the 1st reading of today’s mass we learn something about the vocation of the apostles: their way of broadcasting the Resurrection was different from the way of the women, but the message was the same: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ … and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
But there is one little catch here in this account. Peter tells the people: “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.” Really? Wasn’t he both Lord and Christ from the moment of the Incarnation? Later on, there would be a heretical group that held Jesus was an ordinary man adopted by God at the time of his baptism.
So, can we say that since the very day of Pentecost, slips, sometimes taken out of context, have been made even by popes, but that those confusing statements have been corrected over time? What a blessed thought to consider when critics blame the present pope for slips considered heretical.
The Resurrected Christ will be with his Church until the end of time. Let us pray today to the Holy Spirit that he will guide Pope Francis as he did St. Peter, and that he will give all of us the grace to follow with conviction, even though that path does not always seem to appear in our limited vision to be straight on.